TikTok reveals "kill switch" offer to the US government to avoid ban

[zohaibahd]

In a nutshell: TikTok has disclosed that it offered the US government a "kill switch" back in 2022 to address concerns over data protection and national security. The ByteDance-owned app made this offer as part of its efforts to prevent a ban in the United States.

According to TikTok, the proposed "kill switch" would have given the US government the power to shut down the platform at its sole discretion if certain rules were not followed. These rules were outlined in a draft "National Security Agreement" that TikTok presented to the government in August 2022. The agreement also included provisions such as properly funding data protection units and ensuring that ByteDance did not have access to US users' data.

However, TikTok claims that despite its efforts to address government concerns, US officials ceased any substantive negotiations after the proposal was made. In a letter to the Department of Justice, TikTok's lawyer alleges that the government ignored requests for further meetings and did not respond to an invitation to inspect the company's Dedicated Transparency Center in Maryland.

The disclosure comes as TikTok and ByteDance begin their legal battle against legislation that would force the sale of the app's US assets or face a nationwide ban. The companies argue that the law is a significant departure from America's tradition of promoting an open internet and sets a dangerous precedent by targeting a specific platform.

The legal battle over TikTok's future in the US is set to intensify in the coming months. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hold oral arguments on lawsuits filed by TikTok, ByteDance, and TikTok users in September. The legislation, signed by President Joe Biden in April, gives ByteDance until January 2025 to divest TikTok's US assets or face a ban.

Despite the growing pains, ByteDance continues to experiment in the social media space. The company is currently testing a new app called Whee, which offers a private photo-sharing experience similar to Instagram - although it's currently not available in the US.

The concerns over TikTok stem from the fear that the app could share data belonging to its 170 million US users with the Chinese government. TikTok has consistently denied these allegations, stating that US data does not leave the country and is overseen by American company Oracle through a deal called Project Texas.

To make matters worse, the issue has also entered the European political landscape. Last month, the president of the European Commission did not rule out the possibility of a similar ban on TikTok in Europe, citing security risks posed by the app.

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TikTok reveals "kill switch" offer to the US government to avoid ban

 

[FaTaL]

This is like a terrorist offering you the detonator ... only to have a 2nd one in his pocket.
Its bullsh!T.

 

[emmzo]

This is like a terrorist offering you the detonator ... only to have a 2nd one in his pocket.
Its bullsh!T.

I concur, although the only security concern I see is the permanent damage to western young people's brains.

 

[NumberNine]

I'm sure whatever settlement they reach to stay in business will be highly lucrative for all parties involved.
The government really should just ban it, so they won't.

 

[Uncle Al]

NiceTT try, but this can easily be bi-passed so your solution is worthless .... just like every promise made by the Chinese ..... better to stick with the currently demanded solution and be done with the problem .....

 

[p51d007]

Can we put a kill switch on ALL social media? Just make it during the day, so the collective SCREAM from the addicted people doesn't wake everyone up. <wink>

 

[OutsiderX]

Just ban it already. I work with a lot of young people and seeing them bathe in TT just makes me cringe like no tomorrow.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

This won't be the first app if this is allowed.

 

[Rocky4040]

I find this a bit disturbing that the US gov has the power to do this kind of thing. If they are allowed to do this then it opens the flood gates for them to dig even deeper into companies' business and people's lives as well and do pretty much whatever they want. Look at what they are doing to Deep Cool and its sub companies.

Once you open the doors for things like this and they get away with it the first time they will not stop there. This is just the beginning of much worse stuff that they will try and do and most likely get away with because all they have to say is that it is for security reasons. Now that the USA has done this other gov's will see this and do the same crap all in the name of security no matter who it hurts or destroys people's lives.

Edited: I should add I do Hate anything TIK TOK so no I am not butt hurt about TIK TOK being banned nor does it affect me anyway since I do not live in the USA or use TIK TOK at all as I find it to be a huge waste of time and brain power.

 

[cacarr]

" ... The concerns over TikTok stem from the fear that the app could share data belonging to its 170 million US users with the Chinese government ..."

I don't think that's even the primary concern at this point. TikTok is a powerful, highly targeted psyops tool for the CCP.

 

[cacarr]

I find this a bit disturbing that the US gov has the power to do this kind of thing. If they are allowed to do this then it opens the flood gates for them to dig even deeper into companies' business and people's lives as well and do pretty much whatever they want. Look at what they are doing to Deep Cool and its sub companies.

Once you open the doors for things like this and they get away with it the first time they will not stop there. This is just the beginning of much worse stuff that they will try and do and most likely get away with because all they have to say is that it is for security reasons. Now that the USA has done this other gov's will see this and do the same crap all in the name of security no matter who it hurts or destroys people's lives.

Edited: I should add I do Hate anything TIK TOK so no I am not butt hurt about TIK TOK being banned nor does it affect me anyway since I do not live in the USA or use TIK TOK at all as I find it to be a huge waste of time and brain power.

If you were the US government, would you let Vlad Putin buy the New York times and CNN? ... TikTok has considerably greater potential for disinformation campaigns and general psyops than both those media combined.

Emperor Xi is not your friend. He's the head of a hostile government, and has absolute power to order ByteDance to do whatever he wants it to do.

 

[MyIOnU]

Thic thot is CCP's tool. Ban it already.